Frozen Hatred
by IronFio
Summary: During the Wave Mission Naruto lost the people he cared for, then himself. How does he cope? By devoting himself to the apprehension of the person responsible. How does he do this? He joins Konoha's Anbu Hunter-nin Corps. What does he do when he finally gets his chance to avenge the fallen? We'll see. Rated M for future content. Strong!Naruto. Anbu!Naruto. Fem!Haku.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or the characters in it. I make no money from this work of fanfiction, it is a labor of … Love. *Teary Face Chin Quiver*. This applies to the entire story, I will weep for my fallen dreams. Will you?

"Speech"

_Jutsu_

_'Thought'_

**Bijuu**

* * *

_"Remnant Pulse!"_ A shimmering wave launched from his extended palms, blasting the senbon meant for his vitals out of the way, before slamming into the ground and grinding it to gravel. Sadly, the woman who'd been there wasn't when the jutsu hit. She also managed to avoid the subsequent pulse of razor sharp wind that exploded from the source of the impact.

Four senbon struck him in the left shoulder rendering it useless for the moment. "Fuck, she's still faster than me," He said under his breath. "I won't get anywhere from this range."

He unsheathed the blade at this lower back.  
*******

She noticed him the moment he set foot into the forest, her sensor abilities having developed over a life on the run. His attempted ambush had never stood a chance, but who was he? No hunter-nin dared enter the forest without a full team at least, even that didn't help. Yet this fool thought she could be taken by a single shinobi in a place she'd had nearly a year to prepare for almost any situation. His white mask shone like a pale ghost in the darkness of the forest.

She nearly lost her head while practically hypnotized by the intricate fox face painted on the mask. His tanto removing a few hairs as she ducked under it. She repaid his attack with one of her own, a blade made of ice angled upward under his sternum. A sadness claimed her at the thought of taking another life before the body burst into smoke.

She barely had enough time to get a guard up before the man appeared through the smoke, his tanto smashing into her blade and cutting clean through. A rather bothersome cut appeared along her left shoulder as she narrowly evaded the shimmering blade. _'He's channeling wind chakra. I must end this quickly.'_

That turned out to be quite difficult to do as he didn't miss the chance to press his advantage, skillfully swiping at her with the wind  
covered blade. Already a few cuts had appeared along her body. She jumped to the left suddenly, the masked shinobi hot on her tail, he never saw the tripwire.  
*******

The log slamming into his side was unexpected, the broken ribs from said log weren't. No time to kawarimi away from this. He rolled with the impact, losing his tanto along the way, before coming to a stop some distance away. He rolled again to avoid the senbon that now riddled the spot he'd occupied.

A blast of concussive wind toward the ground allowed him to avoid the cluster of ice spikes bursting from the ground. He caught a branch, righted himself and stayed there, getting a good look at his adversary's face for the first time in a long time.

Long black hair framing the porcelain skin of her face. Features that were both delicate and strong. Beautiful in so many words and more. A thin trail of blood flowed from a cut along her cheek, it did nothing to detract from that beauty. She looked much like she had three years ago, only older. Her features were void of all emotions, her eyes though, they told of great sadness and loneliness. He felt his heart pang at the sight, it reminded him of the first time they'd met. The second person he'd felt a real connection with, the only one he'd ever held ... real feelings for. _'Why? Why did you do it?'  
*******  
_

_'What are you doing?'_ She watched the masked shinobi carefully as he sat on the branch, looking at her. "Who are you, who sent you? We don't have to do this, you can walk away and we can forget this ever happened." She called out.

The hunter-nin said something, but it was so soft she didn't catch it."I'm sorry Kitsune-san, I didn't hear that." The masked shinobi stood on his branch, she readied herself in case he decided to attack her.

"I said, we've met already."

That was surprising, most people she'd met had tried to kill her and refused her peace when it was offered, they weren't around anymore. "I can't say I remember you, please forgive me."

He looked off to the side suddenly, as if struck. "I don't think I can forgive you, you took two of the only people I cared about from me. My _precious people_..." He lifted a hand to his mask and with a soft click removed it. Her breath caught.

"Naruto..."

"Haku."

* * *

**A/N: **

Okay, I wrote this on my phone and that's why the paragraphs are shorter in some areas where they likely should have been longer, that's the way they looked on the phone. Now that I have this up on the computer screen I can see how it really looks, I'll remember that for the future.

So with that done, I know some things need cleared up, here we go.

Yes, Haku is a female.

Some three years have passed since the wave mission making Haku about 18 and Naruto around 15 1/2.

Lastly, both of these characters are strong, not nearly godlike, but this fight was just testing the water on both parts if that gives you a clue. Things have changed from canon drastically. Everything before the wave mission remains the same but during is mostly different and after is almost completely different, changes will be made clear as the story progresses. I'll try to update at the very least monthly, if not sooner. Chapter length should increase as I get my head around this more firmly.

**P.S.-** This is my first story, constructive criticism is wholeheartedly welcomed but if you want to flame that's your prerogative, I'll take what I can from your hatred and make myself a stronger writer. If you see anything (plot-holes within my story, plot-holes regarding canon, grammar mistakes, spelling errors, anything you deem wrong) please let me know so I can fix it.

**Update-** I noticed after updating that I'd forgotten my disclaimer. Also my formatting was messed up some, so I'm working on that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Frozen Hatred: Chapter 2 - Coming Back**

"Speech"

_Jutsu_

_'Thought'_

**Bijuu**

* * *

"Naruto…"

"Haku."

For the first time during their battle emotion spread across Haku's face, it was pain. Not a physical pain but just as damaging, the pain of regret. "I am sorry, I am so sorry."

Naruto felt tears well within him, they were held in check only through an iron will cultivated through intense training. He clenched his jaw but held his tongue, Haku had yet to finish talking.

"I had no choice, Zabuza's will is all I have ever known that had any meaning to me. It still does." She looked up to Naruto in his tree, a ghostly figure of death in his black Konoha Anbu armor. Her face lost all hint of emotion, the steel-like visage of a killer taking the place of sadness. "I told you before Naruto, I would kill my own heart to carry out Zabuza's will, that has not changed. Even if I must...kill _you…_ I will survive, for Zabuza…" Haku set herself back into a battle ready stance and waited.

Naruto's will broke some, just enough to let the tears flow. "I thought I loved you… I'm sorry."  
*******

Haku's eyes widened only the slightest bit before setting themselves back into their coldness. A sharp pain spread from a point in her lower back and she was launched full-bodied across the clearing they'd battled in. '_Clone!' _she thought hearing the tell-tale puff of releasing chakra, Naruto appeared before her a fist cocked back and ready to deliver punishment. Haku didn't miss the wind chakra covering that fist and forced her body to turn in midair, Naruto's _Wind Blade_ passed only inches from her body, a vicious gouge appeared along her thigh. It wasn't deadly but it would definitely hamper her movement. She finally skid to a halt near a tree on the other side of the clearing.

As she pulled herself up with the help of the tree she looked out. Naruto had not moved, he stood where he had been during his attack. He was looking down at something. Her blood she realized soon after.

"I spent the last three years thinking about this moment, it drove me to become strong, to be able to protect the village...and sensei." He drew a deep breath and sighed. "I was supposed to kill you without this sort of thing happening, but now, now that I'm here, I can only feel sadness for what I must do."

"Then don't, we can both leave now, walk away. No more blood has to be spilled here, not yours, not mine." Haku detested killing, she only did so when no other option presented itself, perhaps she could convince Naruto to leave.

"I _can't_! Don't you get that, one of us has to die here!" Naruto looked to the forest canopy, tears flowing freely. "I can't live with myself if I don't do something, anything, to bring them some peace." he turned his gaze back to the woman before him. "You killed Sasuke and Sakura...I can _never _forgive you."

'_Naruto...what happened to you?'_ Haku thought as she looked at the blond teen, he still hadn't moved. A thought occurred to Haku, '_It was me, I did this to him. I took his precious people and made that happy child into a hate driven killer.'_

"I swore to Zabuza-sama before his death that I would survive, and one day that Kirigakure would be free. I cannot die here Naruto, I am sorry." Haku formed handseals rapidly, gathering chakra in the necessary amounts to succeed in the jutsu to the scale she needed to. "_Demonic Ice Mirrors_." With that jutsu completed moisture from the ground, surrounding bodies of water and the air itself coalesced into dozens of ice mirrors all across the area. There must have been 50 at least. Haku slid silently into the nearest one. Naruto had still yet to move, not even considering stopping her.  
*******

Naruto was in turmoil. He had come here with the express intent to kill Haku, after three years of struggling for power and serving his village, it was supposed to have been simple and absolute. Even if he was forced to tap into the power of the Kyuubi itself. Now though it was all wrong, he was having trouble even with the thought of killing the woman let alone the act of it. The blood hadn't been the cause of his predicament, no blood was something he could handle. The feel of his chakra ripping through her flesh, even if indirect, made this all too real for him. Before now this time had been a goal, a fantasy to think about and indulge in. It hurt to think he could be so weak.

Haku, even now, was a gentle soul. He knew, that but how could it be true? Sasuke and Sakura were dead, killed at the hands of Haku and nobody knew why save Haku herself, Inari knew some but the whole story was beyond his comprehension at the time. '_That's it! I have to know, I must find out why Haku did it.'_ It was obvious now that he thought of it, the question had plagued most of his sleepless nights. He would find the answer from Haku, one way or another, that was a fact.

Naruto looked back up from the blood, a new determination spreading across his whole form, he looked to the mirror Haku had disappeared into noticing her absence from said mirror. A quick inspection of his immediate surroundings revealed that the woman had left the area and the trees of the forest blocked view of most of the mirrors, she could attack from anywhere.

Naruto, while remaining wary of attack, forced chakra to his legs and then kicked forward, moving at immense speeds rivaling that of shunshin. He skid to a stop less than a meter from his tanto but before he could retrieve it he had to move again, the dozen or so senbon aimed for his back left little choice. A quick glance back revealed an empty mirror, Haku was a monster when it came to speed. He was almost 10 meters from his weapon, time to use distraction to his advantage. He brought a very familiar seal to his chest before shouting.  
*******

"_Shadow Clone_!" and with that phrase a vast amount of chakra was used, almost half of what Haku could produce at full reserves, and nearly a hundred Narutos came into existence and sprinted in all directions across the forest. If that weren't bad enough, only seconds later those clones began to assault her mirrors. The original Naruto never moved from his spot in the clearing gazing silently out into the forest, possibly looking for her. Some of the clones were using powerful jutsu to attack, they burst from chakra expenditure of course, but that didn't mean the jutsu were weak. It was taking a huge amount of chakra to repair the mirrors and Haku was forced to let some be destroyed, she was down to around 45 now, with more bound to come down, luckily her own mirror hadn't been discovered yet and she took advantage of that. She moved to dispose of the clones attacking her mirrors, in all she lost 10 more mirrors and killed some 70 clones at least.

"_Air Bullets_!" Haku couldn't avoid all the spheres of wind chakra aimed for her and now had another injury to deal with in addition to the one on her thigh. A shallow cut appeared on her shoulder before she could dip back into the mirror. Again the wound wasn't deadly but it was irritating. Multiple air bullets she'd avoided burst upon the mirror and created large chips in the ice though they were quickly repaired.

"Damn." Haku heard as she exited the mirror from the back and moved toward another, she never made it. A Naruto slammed into her side before receiving a senbon to the neck and popping. But it had achieved what it meant to, Haku was off course and her nearest mirror was at least another 12 meters away, she abandoned the idea and released the jutsu.

"_Hiding in the Mist Technique_" Haku expelled a dense mist from her mouth that took only seconds to spread across the clearing and into the air, it concealed everything. '_I have him now.'  
_**_***_**

The mist hadn't been completely unexpected but it did make things much more difficult, it limited all of Naruto's senses greatly and though he was experienced with battle in low visibility environments the loss of his smell and hearing threw him off balance. He began molding chakra for a wind jutsu to blow the mist away. Senbon connected with his shoulder again, rendering it useless _again._ He ripped the senbon out and dashed in the direction they came from, it was extremely foolhardy but he was confident that assault was better than defense in this case. Haku was nowhere to be found, senbon sprouted from his back hitting several sensitive areas and locking some muscles, Naruto hissed in pain but continued on, plucking the senbon out as he went.

He searched for Haku, but he could find nothing, only occasionally being struck by senbon, most aimed for vital areas or places that would lock muscles or cause intense pain, he managed to avoid the very worst of it but was still littered with senbon when he went to his knees. It was confusing, why was he so tired? '_Poison.'_ he thought. Normally poison wouldn't have been an issue for him as his system cleaned it out very quickly, there must have been a lot. '_Damn senbon...'_ and with that Naruto's eyes began to close.

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry if this seems rushed, I wanted to get something out and this was starting to bug me. So I have a few questions.

How long do you want chapter? Shorter at around 1k-2k or closer to 5k? Anything larger I'm not sure I can do at the moment.

Do you want me to include the Japanese names of jutsu? Is English okay? I plan on using quite a few custom jutsu and it's a pain to translate them correctly.

**Fics I'm Reading:**

A Drop of Poison – Angel of Snapdragons, you guys should really go check this out if you haven't or aren't, I love it.

Dancing with Demons – Daystar Clarion, I'm only up to chapter 16 but I like this one so far, it deserves a look if you haven't already.

I'm always looking for new fics to read and if you leave a recommendation (even if it's your fic) I'll try to check it out when I get a moment.

**P.S.- **I've been reading fanfics since I was like 10 or somewhere around that and I figured I'd give it a try myself. I'm having fun so far and the reviews some readers have left really brightened up my day when I read them, thank you. And the fact that people all over the world have at least seen my work means so much to me, thank you my multinational readers. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Frozen Hatred: Chapter 3 - Revelations**

"Speech"

_Jutsu_

_'Thought'_

**Bijuu  
*****

**A/N:**

Beware readers! This chapter has very little action and lots of talking... and some angst. But don't fret! The fates of Sakura and Sasuke as well as Zabuza are revealed here. I've gotten some questions about that. Enjoy!

* * *

He searched for Haku, but he could find nothing, only occasionally being struck by senbon, most aimed for vital areas or places that would lock muscles or cause intense pain, he managed to avoid the very worst of it but was still littered with senbon when he went to his knees. It was confusing, why was he so tired? _'Poison_.' he thought. Normally poison wouldn't have been an issue for him as his system cleaned it out very quickly, there must have been a lot. '_Damn senbon..._' and with that Naruto's eyes began to close.  
*******

Naruto awoke to the crackle of fire and the smell of cooked fish. Though he couldn't see anything due to some form of cloth that obscured his vision entirely. He moved to take it off but found that his hands were bound behind him and that his legs were tied to each other at the ankles and knees. _"How did I miss that?' _he thought to himself.

He seemed...slow, like he was on a delay and in the water. Likely a side effect of the poison in his system being cleansed.

"So you're awake, that was faster than I'd anticipated." came a voice from his left somewhere, Haku's voice.

"What do you want Haku?" was Naruto's clipped though slurred response, he was in no mood to be interrogated.

She was silent for a time and Naruto felt her move toward him. He went stiff when he felt her hand on the side of his face for a second, the calloused and soft areas in contrast to one another, the hand then removed itself and his blindfold soon after. He blinked in the soft light.

He looked up, to Haku's face, to the concerned look on it. "Do you want to kill me Naruto?"

The question was abrupt and heavy and it caught Naruto completely off guard. "What?"

"I asked, do you want to kill me? Please answer."

He looked into her soft brown eyes, to the loneliness in them, the isolation, the misery. It was all too familiar, he'd seen the same emotions in the mirror all too often. "I- I-" but the words would not come. This person had caused a great amount of his misery in recent years, how could he be just talking to her? Three years, _three years _in Anbu just to find her, to _kill_ her. He felt anger, anger at himself at Haku at Kakashi, Zabuza, Kiri, Konoha…everyone and everything. The anger started focused strictly on Haku but bled out to encompass everything he'd ever known and a familiar feeling rose in his chest.

He lost himself to it…

But he'd trained for this, he stopped thinking, cleared his mind and focused. The evil chakra that'd encased him seconds ago dissipated and he regained control. _'Shit_.' Haku was pinned to the wall by his arm, she seemed to be losing consciousness. He released her and stepped back. She fell to the floor a coughing heap.

The chair he'd been bound to was in pieces behind him. Haku slowly composed herself and stood from the wood floor. An ugly red burn spread across her neck from her chin to her collar bone. She winced as she spoke, "I have cooked some fish, you are welcome to it."

"Why?" Naruto asked, his voice hollow.

"I made too much, it will go to waste." She replied softly, moving to a chest at the foot of a plain futon. Naruto watched her every movement.

"You know what I mean."

Haku was silent for a moment as she rummaged around in the chest. After a while, during which Naruto displayed his impatience by tapping his foot and crossing his arms, she pulled a jar of what looked to be a pale green paste out and began to apply it to her neck and collar area..

"Haku. Why?" Naruto asked again, coming to the end of his rope.

"It was never meant to happen the way it did. I never wanted to hurt them." She replied, eyes cast down and face somber.

"Then why did you? Tell me why Haku? Why did you kill Sasuke and Sakura?!" Naruto felt a pulse of the Kyuubi's chakra and forced himself to calm down. He felt the foul presence fade.

"I'll tell you." Haku said, even quieter than before. "When you and Kakashi-san went to guard the bridge builder I saw the possibility to escape. I waited for a moment I could use to escape quietly. Some time later I heard your teammates Sasuke and Sakura leave, I believe he went to train and she followed." Here Haku took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"I called to the bridge builder's grandson and he came. He asked what I needed and I asked for a glass of water." Naruto remained silent, he knew all of this, Inari had told them. "When he brought me a glass I used the water within to mold a blade of ice and cut the ropes binding me. He was scared but he still tried to stop me, yelling as he rushed forward, it was easy to neutralize him with no harm to either of us."

This was it, the portion of the story Naruto had been missing for all those years. So close he could practically taste it. "What happened then."

Haku took a deep breath and released a sigh. She couldn't stop now even if she wanted to. "Of all the things I have done in my blood filled life, the following events are some of my deepest regrets."

"Sasuke heard the boy's yell and appeared soon after. He thought the boy dead and stated that you should have finished what you started on the bridge and that he would clean up your mess. I attacked, wanting to catch him off guard and make my escape, his sharingan made that very difficult though. I couldn't get away before the girl, Sakura, came back with the bridge builder's daughter. The mother took the child into her arms and cradled him, she thought he was dead. I have never killed a child so young and I never plan to, he woke soon after, or he should have."

"He did, Inari is safe and happy in Nami." Haku nodded before continuing.

"Sasuke was relentless and I was forced out of the house. That worked to my benefit however, I had a large source of water outside. I maneuvered us toward the water, I believe Sasuke knew what I was doing but he wasn't willing to disengage. When we got close enough to the water I used a jutsu meant to ensnare and immobilize opponents,_Shokushu no Kaikou_ (_Tentacles of the deep_). It seemed to work for a moment and I attempted to take advantage of that to end our fight. He broke free though and countered, he slashed my arm with a kunai, the first blood of our battle. I grabbed his arm and used his momentum to throw him back to shore to assess the damage to my arm, nothing severe but it scarred." Here Haku pulled her sleeve back and revealed a pale arm to Naruto, a light pink scar traced from midway up her forearm to her wrist along the side. "The story is almost finished…" she said quietly. Naruto remained motionless, his gaze intent upon her. His emotions were a veritable maelstrom of confusion and pity and anger and...other things he felt very uncomfortable with.

"Continue, please."

Haku swallowed and walked over to her table to grab a glass of water. She'd become very thirsty with all of this talking, more talking than she'd done in the last year all together. "I used an under powered _Hyouhen Kidou_ (_Ice Shard Launch)_ to keep him off balance, Sakura jumped in front of the technique. I believe she thought I was trying to kill him, he would have rolled to the side or something and in any case the jutsu was aimed for wholly non-fatal areas. He would have been in pain but completely healthy. One of the shards caught her in the neck though, it ravaged the carotid artery. I never meant to harm her, she wasn't a threat." Naruto remembered the scene...Sakura, a gaping hole in her neck, blood some 3 meters out from where her heart had forced it from her body. He had vomited. He wanted to vomit now.

"Sasuke went into a rage, he attacked me with such ferocity that I almost lost my life multiple times, his sharingan changed, matured. He became a deadly foe, I resorted to kill or be killed tactics. It took the use of several jutsu and all of the skill at my disposal to defeat him." Sasuke, numerous senbon littering his body, bleeding from multiple wounds and a peculiar wound on the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord.

"I had no choice, I must live for Zabuza-sama, it was his dying wish." A lone tear crept into the corner of her eye and rolled down her face. Tsunami, wailing in the house cradling her supposedly dead child, similar tears had streaked her face as well as she sobbed into Inari's hair and gently stroked his face. Naruto couldn't take it anymore. The words, the memories the _hate_. The dread...the dread that he would not be able to fulfill his sworn duty.  
*******

Haku released a sigh once the door slammed shut. Naruto did not seem to be taking her story very well, perhaps he would return with more thoughts of revenge. She sincerely hoped not, killing the boy would sit on her soul like a lead weight, she was sure of it. The best situation was one where he just left the forest and returned to Konoha safely. She would be able to return to her plans to liberate Kiri and staying alive. The loneliness would return as well, the only things she had now, Kiri, Living and Loneliness. What a sad thought.

She wanted Naruto to just leave, to go home where he was safe and loved. She wanted him to stay, he was the first person in years that knew who she really was and wasn't dead. His brightness, though much dimmer than the last she'd seen him, was still there, it was a banishing light to the darkness of loneliness and self-contempt. She felt like she was actually alive in his presence and not some murderous wraith drifting about the forest planning to increase an already high death toll.

The door slammed again, Naruto was back. Haku hadn't moved from her spot though she had finished applying the ointment to her neck, the oily sheen still visible on her angry red skin. She looked to him expectantly.

"There's a problem with your story Haku." Naruto said in a quiet voice. Her eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously, what was wrong? That's how it happened, did she miss something?

"For all of her talents, speed was never one Sakura possessed. How could she have gotten between you and Sasuke without either of you seeing or being able to stop her? Explain that to me Haku." Naruto looked to the floor, his body tensing as if to attack or defend. Haku thought she heard something else after her name, it was very quiet as if only to himself, but it sounded like _please_.

"I have never given thought to how Sakura-san got between us without me being able to stop her…" Haku said after a moment before going back into thought, "I do know this though Naruto, love can be a force more powerful than any training. I moved between Kakashi-san and Zabuza-sama just before Kakashi struck him, it should have hit me, but Zabuza-sama moved faster than I've ever seen, to push me aside. I had always knew he favored me but he was willing to let his own life be taken when he could have substituted it with mine. That is love Naruto, and it is a force all it's own, separate from the physical form." Haku finished her resolution strongly, looking directly into his eyes.

Those same eyes filled with tears a moment later. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Couldn't they just let you leave? No, Sasuke's pride never would have allowed something like that." Naruto paused for a moment, "I'm trying to hate you Haku. I can't though, you are like me, an outcast someone who has know true misery at the hands of others who don't understand us. You feel it too, the gut wrenching loneliness that surrounds you from all sides and strangles the life from you. I can't kill you Haku, that would be like killing a part of myself." His eyes cleared and he wiped the residual tears away with the back of his hand. "How pathetic, the mighty Anbu hunter crying like a stupid kid in front of his mark… you don't have to worry about Konoha shinobi anymore Haku. I'll get them to back down, somehow."

"Oh yeah, as of February 9th of this year the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura went missing. The Sanbi has been reported as being sighted along the coasts of Mizu no Kuni though the reports stopped coming in sometime in June. Kirigakure is now under the control of the Godaime Mizukage Mei Terumi. She has issued a formal statement of apology to all bloodline holders and offers open arms to all of bloodline descent. She as well holds a bloodline, Konoha doesn't know too much but she seems able to manipulate lava and steam." Naruto had slipped into Anbu mode as he called it, the formal tone of his words feeling almost cold coming from him. His last words though were spoken warmly, as if to an old friend, "You don't have to go, I just thought I'd bring it up, let you know that you did see the liberation of Kiri, just not like you'd hoped I imagine. Goodbye Haku, maybe we'll see each other around."

This was too much to handle. Haku practically shut down, her eyes unfocused and she took on a blank expression. She could go home? DId she want to? She decided she could think about all of this later, Naruto had just walked out the door again. She followed after him and just as he was about to leave she called out, "Thank you Naruto, thank you so much…" Tears flowed freely. Tears of joy, something Haku had never experienced. It was nice.

"Not a problem, but don't cry Haku, you're so much more beautiful when you don't cry." And with that he was gone, travelling through the trees of the forest at speeds only skilled shinobi could manage. A small smile graced Haku's face.  
*******

**A/N:**

Well that took longer than I'd anticipated. I guess I can excuse myself though, I did turn 19 this week after all, but can you excuse me? Dear readers? No? That makes me sad. I increased chapter length as well, this one is almost as long as the other two put together, they'll get longer as well.

How did you like how I handled the revealing of how they died? Too clunky? Was it an info dump? Was it just shit? Please let me know, I'm not entirely happy with it either and it may be changed in the future.

This is where the story splits by the way, into Haku's portion and Naruto's portion, so be expecting that. It'll be a lot like this except … not this … you'll see. Action starts up again next chapter.

Finally, I'm sorry this chapter didn't have any action. It hurts my soul as well but be expecting things like this often, life isn't all about action right? Right Bruce WiIlis, I will meet you one day Bruce…

**P.S- **Bet you thought Haku was going to Konoha with Naruto din'cha. Well nope! That's been done before, too often, I want something different here.

**Update- **How the hell do I keep my formatting?! Buuuullllsssshhhiiiiitttttt!


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